Monday, March 5, 2012

We awoke to a very nice sunshiny day today that had the potential to warm up nicely throughout the day.  The wind was at a standstill for another day with the forecast calling for it to come back later on today.

We had plans for this afternoon which did not include the pool in them. 

After lunch we just sat around and waited for two o’clock to roll around to pick up Phil and Joyce and head over to Outdoor Resorts and Terry and Jo-Anne’s place for a cocktail hour that lasted for a couple.  They invited us over to have some face time before we left for Applebee’s for Dinner tonight.  We sat around on their patio talking for the next couple of hours, in the shade of a very nice day,  before we closed up shop and then headed over to Applebee’s.

We had been talking about the deal at Applebee’s for a couple of weeks now and today was the day that we intended to try it.  They had about 4 different entrees that you could order off the 2 for $20 menu along with an appetizer.  Sharon decided on a steak that she said was absolutely delicious and I opted for the Riblets and Fries, which was also very good, but the shape of the bones was weird to say the least.  When I finally got the meat off they were small and flat.  I had never seen a bone shaped like that before on ribs.  But they did taste like Pork Ribs.  We had Onion Rings for our appetizer and they were also delicious.  We had about 10 or so of them.  We certainly had enough food for our senior appetites and even took some of our food home.

Phil and I had a lively discussion on the way home about our towbars.  I concluded after a while that his base plate on his car is like the base plate on our Malibu.  It’s an older base plate and doesn’t have the redundant hook-up for the safety cable.  Sharon and Joyce were laughing at us thinking that neither of us knew what we were talking about.  But I think we were trying to compare apples and oranges.

We got home tonight with a ton of stuff to watch on TV not to mention some stuff that we had recorded last night.  And because we had conflicting shows on tonight, we were recording more stuff tonight.  We’ll never watch all the stuff that’s recorded before we get to our retirement.  Cause we gonna retire at 10.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

We awoke to a very nice day today but later this afternoon it was forecast to turn on us.  The wind will be back with great gusto to say the least. 

Sharon headed out with the laundry this morning while I was still writing my Journal entry for the day.  She literally took the clothes off my back when she left.

I got a call from Terry and Jo-Anne this morning asking about the “soup lunch” at Almar Acres RV Park.  We had planned to go with Phil and Joyce and Jo-Anne wanted to know where the park was and what time the lunch was being held.  They decided that they would go and they would meet us over there.

We waited for Phil and Joyce to pick us up and head over to Almar Acres at 11:45 so we could get there just a little early and make sure we could get a table for the 6 of us.  As we walked into the Dining Room Terry and Jo-Anne were already there and holding a table for us.  They had 3 soups today and there were only a few people in line ahead of us.  There was Borscht, Potato Mushroom and Navy Bean and Ham in Nesco Roasters waiting for the bowls.  Sharon and I wanted to try the Borscht having never had it before.  It was vegetable soup with cabbage, carrots, onion and beets.  The beets gave it a slightly pink color.  It was quite good but a little bland.  I guess a good dose of salt and pepper would have helped out somewhat.  The real star of the soup lunch is the bread that they provide with the soup.  At least that’s the star in my estimation.  I’m not a “soup person” sop the bread fills me up for the day.  The breads are high fiber and are purchased at Costco.  They are without a doubt one of the high points of lunch.

After lunch we came back to Catalina and went almost immediately to the pool.   Terry and Jo-Anne decided to come over also and go for a float for awhile.

While we were at the pool the wind made its appearance.  It was gusting like a hurricane, bending the trees in all different directions.  Wind like this at home would break branches all over town and make one heckuva mess.  But the trees here seem to hold up pretty well.

After the pool we came home and had our leftovers from Applebees for Supper tonight.  Neither of us was very hungry at the time, and we’ll probably be snacking later on.

We have to watch the cable tonight since our dish is dancing the jig on the roof of the motorhome.  So this is going to be another late night.  Regular programming doesn’t start until 8 PM, so it doesn’t get over with until 11.  Hopefully we won’t have many of these nights before we’re back on the dish.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

We got a leisurely start this morning headed toward Wal-Mart in Cathedral City to do some weekly shopping.  After Breakfast we got on the road to drive the 10 miles to get there.  We had to go over the highway on Palm Drive which is always a pain this year.  They’ve been doing a 17 million dollar improvement on the exit and entry ramps which started last year. It’s a very good example of how government can waste about half that amount of money, by completely changing the configuration of the exits.  It makes you wonder what genius designed it in the first place.

It took us about an hour and a half to finish up our shopping and head back to the crossing at Palm Drive.  Now the traffic was tied up and it took us about 7-8 minutes of inching along to get back across again.  A better choice would have ben to go to the Wal-Mart in Rancho Mirage on Monterrey Street.  It’s about the same distance from our campground but I didn’t think of it before we left the motorhome.

By the time we got back it was lunchtime and we sat down and cleaned up a few leftovers in the fridge.  We had to make room for the Pork Tenderloin that she was going to cook for Supper. She sneaked this one in on me.  But I have to eat these meals that she likes if I ever expect to get what I like. 

We took off for the pool this afternoon about 2:30 and the wind was supposed to die down this afternoon.  It did manage to reduce this afternoon to a point where the trees were hardly moving at all.  By the time we got back home it was fine for the dish tonight.

We sat down to our Pork Tenderloin, Braised Potatoes, Corn and Squash and it was all pretty good.  Even though it wouldn’t be considered one of my favorites, I know that Sharon likes to have a meal every once in a while that involves a hunk of meat.  So I’m used to “taking one for the team” every once in a while.

Tonight was another repeat night for TV.  But the DVR makes up for that since the off-channels are not playing repeats.  We had a couple of those shows on tonight which we watched instead.  Only in America and American Pickers were two shows and two hours that divided up the night.

By bedtime the wind still hadn’t gone up yet so it looks like it will be a quiet night.  The wind becomes such a pain at this time of the year.  I guess they have to have something to turn those almost useless windmills.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sharon got up early this morning and got right into her walk.  It didn’t look that nice outside with the wind breezing a bit but she said it was a warm breeze.  The Sun was shining nicely so it was going to warm up today while she was walking.  And in fact by the time lunch rolled around it was in the high 70's today.

Phil and Joyce picked us up today and we headed out toward the Pak Inn in Rancho Mirage.  We would be meeting other friends at the restaurant.  The Pak Inn is a Chinese Buffet Restaurant that we’ve been frequenting for years.  We usually only go a couple of times a year but their food is good and their prices are very reasonable.  When we got to the restaurant it was nearly empty which is very unusual.  We didn’t know if they’re having problems or not.  Nothing changed today, however, the food was still good and the prices were still reasonable.

We sat and talked at the restaurant for awhile and on the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart so Phil and Joyce could do some shopping.  Sharon and I sat in the car and while they were in the store a cop came by and checked while we were parked in a handicap zone with no placard.  I spotted it in the side pocket on the door and hung it up on the mirror.

We got home in time to go to the pool for awhile this afternoon.  Most of the regulars were all there and the pool was very refreshing.  We stayed until just after 4:30 and then came back home.  We were home in time to play our usual daily game of Jeopardy and then settle in for TV tonight.

Neither of us was hungry after our stint at the buffet table today so there wouldn’t be any supper to speak of tonight.  We would be snacking tonight while we watched the tube, however.  We always manage a little pang of hunger coming over us around 8 or so after one of our “buffet” days.

We tried to catch up on our tapes tonight along with our regular programming but didn’t get it complete again.  We caved at 10 and put the remaining shows on hold.

Friday, March 9, 2012

As soon as I got up this morning and started typing my Journal I could hear the plinking of the Pickleballs on the court above us.  Apparently they’re running a tournament this weekend with about a hundred people.  This sport has really caught on out here in the west as it’s given hardly a mention as you move further east.

It was a nice sunshiny day this morning and a perfect day for a tournament.  There’s no wind which would play hell with the Pickleball.

Sharon got up and went for her walk this morning before she got back with more energy than what she left with.  She couldn’t wait to start wiping down the car when she got back.

While she was working on the car I was working on a story about Pioneertown, California that we visited last week for the Newsletter.  It will take up most of the front page.

At lunchtime we rustled up our own lunch and waited for the afternoon to roll around and our usual pool time.

By the time we left for the pool it was quite warm out today.  The sun was still shining and the wind was absent, ad it had turned i9nto a really nice day.  Apparently all the people in the pool felt the same way cause it was crowded today.  All the usual floaters were there with their noodles.  The water is so much more refreshing now that they’ve turned the temperature down.  We stayed until about 4:30 and then mosied on back to the motorhome.

Sharon made Shrimp Etouffee’ for Supper tonight and all she had to do was reheat it in a pan before we ate.  We usually have it with Egg Rolls and she had a bunch of Chicken Egg Rolls to go with it.  Etouffee’ is one of my favorites to eat and tonight’s offering was exceptional to say the least.  Apparently Sharon cooked the rice in Chicken Broth tonight and that seemed to make a really big difference in the final taste of the Etouffee’.  Man she’s good!

We settled in to be entertained by the tube for the night.  We had a couple of shows on tape that we would clean up later tonight when we ran out of regular shows.  Our tapes took us right up to Craig Ferguson and bedtime before they ran out.  We won’t have any back-up for this weekend if the programming is bad.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

We were off early this morning to what has become our usual Saturday Breakfast at 2 Springs RV Resort.  We picked up Phil and Joyce and headed west to the park.  We had called Terry and Jo-Anne and they said they would call us back if they were interested.  We didn’t get a call so we’re assuming that they won’t be there.  The food was excellent as always and plenty of it.  I paced myself this morning so I could have the French Toast and it worked out quite well.  Terry and Diana Brown and Roy and Maryanne Parent were also there this morning.  You have to tell your friends about a good deal and this was it.  Corky and Deb Zimmermann told us a couple of years ago that they weren’t really “breakfast people” and it’s a shame that they can’t share this good luck.

After Breakfast we stopped at the Flea Market At the Little Morongo Storage Sheds for a brief shopping trip.  Because I couldn’t walk the area, I was hoping I could sit in the car and find Kim Komando on the radio, but Rush was on.  Another bonus this morning.  The rest of my group was gone about 20-25 minutes and returned empty-handed.  Upon seeing that, I was glad that I didn’t even make the effort to walk around.  We skipped another rummage sale at Rainbow Spa RV Resort also on the way back home.  It was another “walk around” park.

By the time we got back it was time to sit around for a couple of hours before we went to the pool for the afternoon.  We both took a little nap to rest our Breakfasts and watch a little tube.

By two-thirty we were ready for the pool and went over to find all the people we had just seen at Breakfast floating around in the water.  This had definitely turned into a nice day for soaking and floating.  Sharon had intended to go to mass tonight instead of tomorrow so she was intending to leave early even though she only came home about 10 minutes before me.  By the time I got home she had already changed her clothes and was on the way out the door for church.

We had a plan tonight for supper.  After church Sharon was going to stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken and pick up a couple of Chicken Pot Pies and an order of popcorn chicken.  We had heard that the Chicken Pot Pies were quite good and I wanted to try one, and she was game also.  We were thinking that they might be only lukewarm by the time she got home but we were wrong.  They were too hot for either of us to eat without cooling them off for a few minutes.  And they were actually very good.  I love Chicken Pot Pies and Sharon makes good ones.  Hers have a crust on the bottom and KFC’s don’t.  So compared together I still think Sharon’s are better.  But just comparing the contents, they are both very good.

Tonight was a relatively lousy night for TV just like most Saturdays are.  It was all repeats and unfortunately we finished up most of our taped shows last night when we came up short for programming.  We switched over to Lockup on MSNBC and found a couple of shows that we hadn’t seen before.  Switching the clocks forward tonight took us right up to 11:30 before we headed to bed.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

We got up with a plan this morning.  Sharon had found a recipe for Apple Pancakes in one of her magazines, and we had planned to make them this morning.  We still had some of the Elk Breakfast Sausage left from our care package from Dennis and Mary in Mesa.  Right off the get-go we had to improvise because we didn’t have the ingredients to make the pancakes as we were short of Bisquick and Milk.  So we used a pre-mixed batter to make them up, including all of the other ingredients that the recipe called for.

The Pancakes turned out to be just great.  We couldn’t believe that there would be such a prevalent apple taste to them.  The only thing I would change about them is to use a Granny Smith apple next time.  We had 3 pancakes left over and a piece of sausage which will make another mini-breakfast over the next week.

Needless to say neither of us was the least bit hungry for lunch, so we just sat around and waited for pool time to arrive.

We left for the pool early today around 2:15.  Phil and Joyce had just arrived when we got there.  Because of the time change in the middle of the night, the pool was in direct sunlight when we got there and it remained in the sun for the first 45 minutes.  It would almost be the first time that we had spent so much time in the direct sun for so long.  We try to avoid the sun since we spend so much time out here in the winter, and we both have had pre-cancerous stuff removed from our skin.

We got back home around 4:30 and Phil and Joyce had invited us over to partake in adult beverages and snacks for awhile.  We were over there for about an hour or so before we came back home and Sharon cooked up some Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches for Supper.  It was a nice change of pace for sitting down to a full meal.

We had to deal with the wind again tonight with our satellite dish and we finally gave up about 8 o’clock and switched it over to cable for the night.  The nice thing was that there really wasn’t anything on tonight that I was really interested in seeing anyway.  We managed to see 60 minutes before the night went to hell, even though I really wanted to see GCB tonight I had to wait until 10 before it came on the cable.  I crashed and burned at 11.